Desire and Perspective

These two words have been going around in my head for a few months now. I have been thinking a lot about the meaning of these words and also about the meaning they have in my life. I'm not really the deep thinker type so this is all new to me.

The dictionary says that desire is a verb meaning to wish or long for; crave, or want. Well, there a lot of things I crave or want. But do my momentary desires trump my ultimate desire? Sometimes they do. I want to be skinny but sometimes my momentary desire has me wanting to eat a cupcake. I'm trying to figure out how to get past the momentary want and keep my eye on the ultimate desire.

Last general conference there was a talk given on this subject by Dallin H. Oaks. http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/desire?lang=eng&query=desireI think this talk has stuck with me more than any of the others. He was talking on a spiritual level which I get, but I have thought about what he said in all aspects of life from spiritual, to motherhood, to dieting, and most other areas of everyday life. He said"Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming."This quote really speaks to me lately. If I truly desire something then I have to make it a priority so I can make the choices to get me to my goal. I'm working on this in a few areas. I thought maybe if I wrote all this down it would help me sort it out in my mind. I don't think I'm there yet. I'll keep pondering it. Maybe someday it will all come together or maybe my thinking about it all the time will help me keep my priorities in order to make the right choices. hmmmm... It really is something to think about.

The other word is perspective. What a powerful word. There are a few definitions of this, a couple that I think apply to how I'm using it are; the state of one's ideas, the facts known to one, or a mental view or prospect. It is amazing to me how a little change of perspective can make a huge difference. Whether you are too close to see the 'big picture' of something, or too far away to see the 'little details'. Sometimes a change of perspective is all you need to figure out the problems. I've been trying to remember to do that but sometimes I get stuck in rut and sometimes I choose to remain in my rut. If I try to look at situations from the perspective of my husband, or my kids, or whoever depending on the situation, I will usually change what I'm thinking, feeling, or saying. On a spiritual level I try to remind myself to look at things (this mostly applies to my self image) from an eternal perspective, and from my Heavenly Fathers perspective.

My daughter and I watched the movie Soul Surfer. It was a great movie with a great message and it talked a lot about our perspectives and how it will shape our actions and reactions. Maybe that is why I have been thinking about this so much.

A penny will hide the biggest star in the Universe if you hold it close enough to your eye. ~Samuel Grafton Wow, that kind of sums it all up now doesn't it!

Again, I am writing all this to try to sort it out in my own mind. I still don't think it is working and I don't think anything I have written has made sense except maybe to me. Or maybe not even to me. I can't really tell yet. Probably I should stop now before I confuse anyone or myself any further.

That's All

One of my favorite things

For as long as I can remember I have LOVED to read. One of my favorite things when I was a kid in school was the book orders that came every month or so. I loved trying to find not only the right books, but the ones that were the least expensive so I could get more than one! I had a closet full of teen romance novels in Jr. High, but had to go more in the direction of using the library and borrowing in high school. Less opportunities for book orders and also more of a need to put gas in my car. That was ok, it made for easier storage. (I'll come back to that point later)

In school I always had a book with me to read if I finished my work, I have always read almost every night before I go to sleep. (even if just for 5 minutes) I take books to read in the car, and to work, and while waiting in doctors offices. You get the picture. I'm sad to say that I don't read much to try to learn things, I read for pure entertainment. I love church novels, mysteries and trashy romance novels. OK they aren't really trashy, they are usually the PG rated kind of trashy. Some might push the PG-13 range. I do venture in to other areas sometimes. I like happy endings. I have read a ton of things that my kids read because I want to know what they are reading. Everything from the Harry Potter series, the Twilight series, the Hatchet series, the Lost Children series, and back again to the teen novels that my daughter read when she was in high school. She is usually the one who points me in the direction of a good author or book these days. Since my kids reached the book order age we have shelves FULL of books. Especially Mackenzie.

All this rambling has a point, really it does and here it is:

Last Christmas my husband got me the BEST gift ever. I think it is the one I have gotten the most use of in all of our 23 Christmas's together. I didn't ask for, or hint that I wanted it. I don't even think that I knew I wanted it. He managed to think it up all on his own. Do you see where this is headed yet? My best gift ever was a KINDLE! Can I just say that I LOVE MY KINDLE! She has a cute pink cover, (imagine that) and her name is Agnes. My daughter, a fellow reading lover, gave me a huge big deal about it and how she doesn't like them and its not a real book and it doesn't have the feel or smell or whatever a real book has. I think she had kindle envy. (back to that point later too)

.;

I love my kindle for so many reasons, first of all, it is so easy to take everywhere. It fits in my purse and I can easily pull it out and get back to whatever my latest book is. I never have to find my place because it saves it for me:) I really love that. I can take numerous books with me too. Right now I have 33 books on it and have read 30 of them. It is so easy to get new books, last week before we left town I quickly got on Amazon and downloaded (or is it uploaded? Whatever.)a couple new ones just so I didn't run out of things to read. They are wirelessly delivered so in a matter of seconds I had new material. AWESOME! Amazon has tons of free books or really inexpensive ones. ($1-$3) Also since I am getting a little tiny bit older and because of the work I do I think I am getting arthritis in my hands. Holding books open actually bothers them. My Kindle doesn't have to be held open so TA-DAAA, no pain.


Now no more finding a place to keep all my books and no more piles of them stacked on my bedside table. Definately easier storage now.

When Mackenzie moved home from college for the summer I happened to have about 10 books from her favorite author (Marcia McClure, man can she write a kissing scene) that she hadn't read on my cute little kindle. She turned up her nose at it and then proceeded to take it over! I didn't see it again for almost 2 weeks. Why did I get it back? Well, my little Kindle hater bought her own! That's right, she was totally converted. I love it when the mother is right, and I have teenagers. They always think I'm wrong. Not only did she get a Kindle but she also copied my cute case. What can I say, she wants to be like me:) Maybe not, but at least I taught her right, pink is the best color!


So here's to Agnes, my cute little pink kindle, and my awesome hubby who got her for me. Happy reading.

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go~Dr. Seuss

That's All.